Ekaterine Jikidze

Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
The explosive growth of social media has transformed the digital marketing landscape and established social media advertising as an important factor influencing consumer behavior. This study investigates how key features of social media advertising, including interactivity, personal expectation, informativeness, hedonic value, and perceived relevance, can affect consumer engagement and then lead to purchase intention. A quantitative research design was applied, using survey data collected online in Georgia between June and August 2025 from 214 socially active consumers who regularly purchase from Temu, a leading e-commerce platform among Georgian users. The data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with SmartPLS 4 software to test the hypothesized relationships. The model explained 85% of the variance in purchase intention, indicating a very strong explanatory power. The findings indicate that interactivity, personal expectation, and perceived relevance have a strong positive effect on both consumer engagement and purchase intention. Informativeness and hedonic value also exert positive effects; however, their influence becomes less consistent when perceived value and satisfaction are used as moderating variables. The study concludes that marketers must design social media advertisements that are engaging, interactive, emotionally engaging, and easy to understand to enhance consumer satisfaction and perceived value, ultimately leading to higher purchase intentions. These insights provide practical guidance for businesses seeking to optimize social media advertising strategies and strengthen consumer engagement.